Happy Birthday Isaiah!

You may remember Isaiah from my blog posting of his Kindergarden Graduation.We celebrated my son Isaiah's birthday this weekend with a Pirates swim party at Grandma's house. It was really an all you can eat pizza fest and swim marathon. We were able to bribe them out of the pool with the pinata game. The candy in the pinata was chocolate and melting away as the temperature outside hit about 95 degrees...so, afterward we had to take all the bags and put them in the freezer for awhile -sorry kids! So then after the happy birthday song my husband asked Isaiah to smell the cake (how many of us have fallen for that one?), and as he did my husband pushed his face into the cake! haha! everyone was laughing including Isaiah.
Later that night at bedtime Isaiah said to me "Mom, this was the BEST day ever!" Isn't that what every parent wants to hear? Happy Birthday Isaiah.

VBS Fun!

I love my church! Every summer our church, Harvest, hosts a week long children's program called Vacation Bible School (VBS). This year I was invited to help photograph this special week with Dawn Malone, thanks Dawn! The week started with standard group class pictures and ended with several fun candid shots of arts and crafts, drama theatre skits, and outdoor water play. I would have liked to have posted them all but instead I will post what I can for now. There were about 600 students in all who attended and numerous volunteers and servants who I watched put their whole heart into this project. They are my heroes! I was so honored to be a part of something professionally that meant so much to my children. I am blessed!

OSP Temecula

My family and I enjoyed a beautiful day at Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, Ca. We joined my photog friends for an OSP network hosted by Melissa Mc Clure. This was a nice casual gathering under the big shady trees with snacks, wine tasting, our silly camera moments, and Melissa's awesome KISS album - I want one of those soon!(see it on her blog HERE ). Melissa was a fun host and it was so relaxing to sit and chit chat with these talented OSP photogs from San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. My husband and I also invited our newly engaged friends, Rich and Nicole, who modeled for us and did a great job! Thanks guys! The best part for me was bringing my family along and being able to include them in a job that I love and am passionate about. Today was a blessed day!

Harvest Crusade

Your invited! Every year my church, Harvest, hosts a crusade in Anaheim called the Harvest Crusade. This is a FREE three day event where people from all over come together and fill the stadium to hear some really cool bands like David Crowder , Toby Mac , and Leeland , just to name a few. There is also a short message by my super fun pastor Greg Laurie. I posted a banner in hope that you will come out and join us for this awesome weekend!

K9 Basics

I spent time over at Adlerhorst Police K-9 Academy this past week. There was a new class of K-9 Officers graduating with their newly assigned Shepherds from the Basic Handlers Class. Well, most of the time I choose to photograph right on the field but for this particular excercise I chose to shoot from up on a ladder! What I think is most impressive about this breed is just how smart they really are. I watched and listened to how the trainers and handlers call out commands to these dogs in another language and how they immediately respond in obedience to either refrain or attack...with a bite! Ouch!

Home Of The Brave

While at a friend's BBQ the other day, I met a mother and her son who were spending their last day together before his long journey to Iraq. His name is PFC David C. Freston of Ontario, CA. Well, after hearing of his new assignment to Baghdad I asked his mother if she would like a few photos taken since I happened to have my camera with me and she happily said yes - doesn't she look proud? Please remember to say a prayer for all of our troops and to thank God for brave soldiers like David who gave us the reason to celebrate our country's Independance Day!

Happy 4th of July!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July with your friends and families!